The Cowboys are considered the front runner to win the Super Bowl, but Colin says those who are expecting a dominant march through the postseason have another thing coming. If you look at the potential matchups following their bye week, the Cowboys could face in Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford, or the Giants defense, and possibly MVP candidate Matt Ryan or Seattle in the Championship.

If they do make it to the Super Bowl, they’ll likely face Belichick, Brady and the Patriots. Don’t start sizing the rings yet.

“You’re not winning the Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean you’re not a good team. You have a quarterback who’s never played a playoff game. You have Jason Garrett, who doesn’t exactly have a lot of notches on the old playoff win belt. There’s never been a road like this.”

Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers had big Week 17’s, and are at the forefront of the conversation for MVP. Colin thinks the Raiders lackluster performance against the Broncos showed the extent to which Carr had put the franchise on his back in a season where he officially changed the culture of a historically losing franchise in one of the toughest divisions in football.

If the MVP award is supposed to be given to the player who is the most indispensable, it’s hard to argue that Carr shouldn’t at least be in the top 2 or 3. This is exactly the reason why Colin is’nt a fan of awards. They’re show votes, dominated by agendas.

“Unlike Tom Brady, who sat for a month and his backup’s backup won a game, when Derek Carr left, the Raiders didn’t only not win games, the Raiders couldn’t pick up first downs. And he’s not in the MVP talk?”

It’s Black Monday and the NFL coaching firings are well underway. Colin sees the common thread with most of the coaching openings being the lack of a franchise quarterback. Taking a job without a QB is usually doomed from the start. While the Rams and Chargers have nice defensive pieces, Colin thinks the most attractive coaching spot would be the Colts if they parted ways with Chuck Pagano. The opportunity to inherit Andrew Luck for the next 10 years sets up whoever takes over to win a bunch of games.

“The Colts is the best job, if it’s available.”

Guests:

John Lynch – Fox Sports NFL Analyst is in-studio discuss whether he thinks Romo still has gas in the tank; why time off can make for slow starts, which lead to losses; the difference between the playoffs and regular season; if lack of experience could be an asset; and his NFL MVP.

Peter King – Founder and Editor-In-Chief of the MMQB joins the show to look ahead to the playoffs; his leading coaching candidates heading into the offseason; whether Chuck Pagano is on the hot seat in Indy; if Andrew Luck would make the opening the league’s most attractive, and if Sean Payton could end up with the Rams.

Joel Klatt – FS1 College Football Analyst is in-studio to look ahead to the National Championship Game, why Lane Kiffin being asked to leave before the title game on cements his reputation as immature, and what college football can do to create parity.